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Articles by Alexey Vovk
Shadow IT : les risques que les produits informatiques non autorisés font peser sur les entreprises
Une étude récente de Kaspersky a montré qu'au cours des deux dernières années, 10 % des entreprises françaises ont subi des cyberincidents causés par l'utilisation de ressources informatiques non autorisées par leurs employés. Qu'il s'agisse de fuite de données confidentielles ou de dommages tangibles pour l'entreprise, l’informatique fantôme peut représenter des risques aggravés pour toute organisation, et ses conséquences potentielles ne doivent pas être négligées.
Data exfiltration through a PC speaker
Researchers at Korea University in Seoul have published a paper detailing a new method of data theft from a computer that has maximum protection; that is — placed in an isolated room and surrounded with an air gap (i.e., connected to neither the internet nor a local network). This type of attack may serve as a last resort for a malicious actor when no other, simpler methods are feasible.
What really goes on when your device is in repair
Probably everyone has damaged their smartphone, tablet or laptop and needed it repaired at least once in their lives. The cause of the damage may be the user’s own sloppiness: replacing broken smartphone screens brought countless billions of dollars to the industry. But more often, it’s just a random malfunction like the battery failing, the hard drive dying, or a key coming off the keyboard. And this can happen at any time.
Information security training on a shoestring
awareness DIY security trainings for your colleagues that are both fun (for you) and educational (for them). Alanna Titterington March 31, 2023 Disclaimer. This is the April Fools’ Day blog post. The methods of “cybersecurity trainings” described in it are not entirely ethical, and are not universally considered acceptable. We recommend that you think twice before using them in real life and ideally obtain the consent of the team for such actions beforehand.
Supply chain attack on 3CX customers
supply chain Cybercriminals attack 3CX VoIP telephony software users via trojanized applications. Editorial Team March 30, 2023 Various media sources are reporting a mass supply-chain attack targeting 3CX VoIP telephony system users. Unknown attackers managed to infect eponymous VoIP applications for both Windows and macOS. Now cybercriminals attack its users via weaponized application signed with a valid 3CX certificate.
Microsoft will block e-mail from outdated Exchange servers
Outdated and completely unsupported versions of Exchange Servers pose an undeniable danger to corporate infrastructure and to mail flow. However, many administrators still believe in the proverb “if it ain’t broke — don’t fix it”, and prefer not to update Exchange unless absolutely necessary. And this appears to be why Microsoft decided to develop its transport-based enforcement System for Exchange Online.
Advice for collecting, storing and sharing personal data
PII How to store and process personally identifiable information in a company with minimum risks. Pavel Savenkov March 28, 2023 Governments of many countries are tightening the laws that regulate working with personal data. At the same time, the number of data leaks is only growing from year to year.
How to restore information in an edited screenshot Original
You might think that hiding sensitive information in a picture is a cakewalk. Just blot out your secrets with a big black marker in any image editor. Or even better: just crop the bit of the photo or screenshot that contains your personal data. What could possibly go wrong? Quite a lot, in fact. We’ve already posted about how not to hide information in images and how not to retouch pictures embedded in documents.
Scam e-mails from “cloud-mining platform”
scam Scammers are pretending to offer users tens of thousands of dollars, supposedly accumulated in an account on an “automated cloud-mining platform”. Olga Svistunova March 24, 2023 Despite some instability over the past six months, the cryptocurrency market is still seen by many as a get-rich-quick scheme. Accordingly, the stream of scammers feeding off this topic won’t be running dry any time soon.
Phishing through SharePoint
phishing Cybercriminals are using hijacked SharePoint servers to send dangerous notifications. Roman Dedenok March 23, 2023 A phishing link in the e-mail body is a thing of the past. Mail filters now detect this trick with near 100% efficiency. That’s why cybercriminals are constantly inventing new ways to get their hands on corporate login credentials. We recently came across a rather interesting method that makes use of perfectly legitimate SharePoint servers.
Zero-click remote hacks for Samsung, Google, and Vivo smartphones Original
Samsung Vulnerabilities found in the Exynos chipset allow Samsung, Vivo and Google smartphones to be remotely hacked if the owner’s phone number is known. How is this possible, and how to protect yourself? Stan Kaminsky March 20, 2023 Smartphones, tablets, and even cars with Samsung Exynos microprocessors are at risk of remote hacking. Bug hunters at Google Project Zero say you just need the victim’s phone number.
Copyright infringement, add a link Original
scam How scammers force website owners to add potentially dangerous links by threatening harsh consequences for copyright infringement. Andrey Kovtun March 16, 2023 E-mail scams come in all shapes and sizes, with new ones keep appearing every day. No wonder, since this has always been the easiest and cheapest way to con people online — even for attackers who lack technical skills. In fact, all they need is a smidgen of both cunning and imagination.
Update iPhone to iOS 16.3 and Mac to macOS Ventura 13.2
The latest versions of iOS and iPadOS (16.3) and macOS (Ventura 13.2) have fixed the vulnerabilities tracked as CVE-2023-23530 and CVE-2023-23531. We explain the nature of these bugs, why they deserve your attention, what Pegasus spyware has to do with it, and why you should take these and future iOS, iPad and macOS security updates seriously. NSPredicate, FORCEDENTRY, Pegasus, and all the rest To explain why these latest updates are important, we need a little background.
How scammers swindle money out of new employees
The first few days in a new workplace are commonly packed with team meetings, trainings, onboarding sessions, and so on. Much ado with little understanding of what’s going on. At the same time there are certain “rituals” that many new hires go in for these days — one of which being posting on social media (most commonly, but not exclusively, on LinkedIn) about starting a new job. Often, companies themselves announce there how happy they are to welcome a new team member.
Smart device vulnerabilities and securing against them Original
Intelligent features and internet connectivity are built into most television sets, baby monitors, and many other digital devices these days. Regardless of whether you use these smart features or not, smart devices produce security risks that you should know about and take steps to protect yourself against, while if you’re using plenty of the features of your smart home, securing its components is all the more critical.
How to protect funds being stolen from bank cards with a chip and NFC
Payment services have become both more convenient and more secure over recent years — but cybercriminals are still managing to steal funds from cards all around the world. What are the most common methods used for such theft, and how can you counteract them?
Transatlantic Cable podcast, episode 289
In episode 289 of the Transatlantic Cable, the team look at four new stories to tempt your earbuds. This week kicks off with news that TikTok are implementing a 60-minute time limit for users under 18. Following that, discussion moves to further developments around FTX, this time about their missing $9 billion. To wrap up, we discuss news around Call of Duty players taking back Black Ops III from hackers and bots and more news around the recent LastPass data breach.
Safe Chrome and Firefox settings for your organization
browsers It’s common practice in many companies to keep work and personal information separate. But browser synchronization often remains unnoticed — and attackers are already exploiting it. Alexey Vovk March 9, 2023 Storing corporate and personal information, accounts, and files on separate devices is one of the most popular (and effective!) tips for information security. Many companies set this as a mandatory requirement for all employees.
How AI solutions will change our lives
AI AI is going to have a tremendous impact on our lives. How can we get ready for it? Ivan Kwiatkowski March 2, 2023 Beyond the various geopolitical events that defined 2022, on the technological level, it was the year of AI. I might as well start by coming clean: until very recently, whenever I’d be asked about AI in cybersecurity, I’d dismiss it as vaporware.
80% of Indian firms face cyber attacks due to miscommunication in IT security
More than half of top-tier managers in India (80 per cent) admit that a miscommunication with the IT department or IT security team has resulted in at least one cybersecurity incident in their firms, a new report said on Monday.According to the ...
How to protect from Pegasus and other advanced spyware
spyware How to protect your iPhone or Android smartphone from Pegasus and similar mobile APTs. Costin Raiu February 2, 2022 Possibly the biggest story of 2021 — an investigation by the Guardian and 16 other media organizations, published in July — suggested that over 30,000 human rights activists, journalists and lawyers across the world may have been targeted using Pegasus. Pegasus is a so-called “legal surveillance software” developed by the Israeli company NSO.
What is the most effective security solution against ransomware?
Almost every developer of information security solutions claims their products repel ransomware attacks. That’s true: All of them do provide some degree of protection against ransomware. But how strong is that protection? How effective are those technologies? Those aren’t idle questions: Partial protection against ransomware is a dubious achievement. If a solution can’t stop a threat in its tracks, then where is the guarantee that it at least kept critical files safe?
Ransomware disguised as a mobile version of Cyberpunk 2077
No sooner was Cyberpunk 2077 released for Windows and consoles than we came across a “beta version for Android” online. It was completely free to download from a site bearing the name cyberpunk2077mobile[.]com. The game’s actual developer has yet to announce any mobile version of the game, so we decided to investigate. Cyberpunk 2077 for Android? No, it’s ransomware The website for the alleged mobile version looks nothing like Cyberpunk 2077‘s official site — it looks more like Google Play, in fact.
The right way to make backups
backup Everything you need to know about how to back up data right. Yaroslava Ryabova October 2, 2017 How many times can we hammer home that making backups is critically important? Well, experience shows time and again that people think the process is complicated and put off making it a part of their daily, weekly, or monthly routine. How should you make backups? What must you back up? Where will you store the backups? We have many devices but little time, and so all too often, backup is postponed.
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